EAST GREENBUSH — The town’s Republican committee chairman, Chris DeFruscio, paid cash to publish a political-attack advertisement in a local publication that was made to appear like it was a letter-to-the-editor from a town resident.

The letter, which contained false accusations directed at a town official, was attributed to “Martha Andiago, East Greenbush,” which is apparently a fictitious name.

The advertisement appeared in Thursday’s edition of The Advertiser, a non-subscription weekly publication mailed to town residents. The letter targeted Toni Murphy, a Democrat seeking reelection Tuesday as East Greenbush tax collector. The letter accused Murphy of ordering an elderly man at a recent town meeting to “Sit Down!”

“While a senior citizen was trying to explain his disapproval of the way he was treated at the tax receiver’s office and the tax assessor’s office, Ms. Murphy was very vocal and rude in telling the elderly man to ‘SIT DOWN!’” the letter reads. “HOW DARE SHE, or any public figure ... try to silence people who are only looking for this administration to do the job they were elected and hired to do.”

Robert Wells, 75, who is the man referred to in the letter, said it did not happen. He said he went to the town meeting to appeal for a more fair process in resolving a tax issue and asked if he could sit while speaking.

“At some point, a female voice said something to the effect ‘Yes, sit down,’ or an offer was made to get me a chair and someone said ‘by all means, sit down,” he said, adding that he feels he is being “used” in a political fight.

Reached Saturday, DeFruscio sought to distance himself from the ad and repeatedly talked over a reporter. He refused to answer questions about his role in purchasing the ad or to identify the alleged author.

DeFruscio admitted paying $148 in cash to publish the letter when he went in-person to the office of The Advertiser on Oct. 28.

Susan St. Pierre, a sales rep for The Advertiser, said DeFruscio purchased several political ads and paid by check for all of the ads except the letter, which he paid for in cash.

On Saturday, DeFruscio, 49, told the Times Union: “I had an envelope. She (Andiago) was with us. She was outside. I went inside and dropped stuff off to Sue.”

But St. Pierre said she did not notice anyone else outside her office when DeFruscio was there. Under a standard verification process she called a number listed for the letter’s author and a woman confirmed her name was “Martha Andiago.” A search of public databases, including voter and property records, shows no one by that name in New York state.

On Friday, as questions surfaced about the letter, St. Pierre said she called back the number and the woman again confirmed her name is “Martha Andiago.” St. Pierre said she asked her to come to the Advertiser’s office with identification. “Then I said ‘May I ask your address’ and there was silence on the phone for a minute, and then the dial tone,” St. Pierre said.

St. Pierre said there were several “red flags” about DeFruscio’s ad purchase.

“He had told me that several people were pitching in to pay for that ad,” St. Pierre said. “My original email I received for that ad wasn’t signed by “Martha Andiago,” it was a different name but Chris changed it.”

She said DeFruscio asked her to make out a receipt for that ad to “Martha Andiago” while other ads were invoiced to the town GOP committee.

DeFruscio insisted the person who wrote the letter was real and that she would contact the Times Union to verify her identity. But no one called. DeFruscio also said her name was spelled wrong in the letter, but he declined to provide correct spelling or her telephone number. He also would not say how he knows the woman or why he had paid for her advertisement.

Murphy said the ad is part of a pattern of dirty political tactics by town Republican leaders.

“They’ll do anything at this point, you know elections,” Murphy said. “Usually my position isn’t contested like this. I just collect the taxes and don’t make decisions on who to hire.”

Murphy is being challenged for the job, which pays about $44,000 annually, by Corine Sheldon, a Republican. Sheldon could not be reached for comment.

“I’m angry because I was totally taken advantage of,” St. Pierre said.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Here is what the Times Union has to say about DA Rich McNally's bid for re-election:

Four years ago, Rensselaer County District Attorney Richard McNally Jr. took over an office plagued with a backlog of cases and an image problem. It needed, as he puts it, a “sea change.”

Mr. McNally, a Democrat, has taken steps to do just that. He deserves another term to keep getting the job done.

His Republican opponent, Joel Abelov, a former assistant district attorney, claims he can do better. He says the conviction rate is too low and questions the changes Mr. McNally has made.

Among their more substantive differences, Mr. Abelov disagrees with Mr. McNally’s willingness to plea bargain many felony cases down to misdemeanors. Mr. Abelove’s hard-line position makes for a good muscular law-and-order message, but doesn’t reflect the job’s reality. Plea bargaining is a common and necessary practice in our justice system.

Without pleas, courts would be clogged, cases would sometimes go to trial with insufficient evidence and the valuable work prosecutors do in sorting criminals from those who might deserve a break would be lost. Prosecutors would be unable to focus their limited resources on the cases that matter most.

Mr. McNally’s approach has helped cut a case backlog in half. And, he requires that every plea bargain that involves a conviction include a DNA sample, which can be checked against unsolved crimes.

He has also taken a smarter, more compassionate approach in domestic violence cases, striving to keep victims out of court when possible.

Mr. McNally has taken a more enlightened yet practical approach to managing the office, too. He stripped away remnants of a caste system that had various bureau chiefs doing varying degrees of work and which relegated women to one large office while men had offices of their own. Mr. Abelove faults him for eliminating chiefs; we believe it reflects the realities of running an office in tight fiscal times.

We are also concerned that Mr. Abelove spent much of his career under Mr. McNally’s predecessors, Patricia DeAngelis, whose re-election prospects were so dismal she didn’t seek another term, and Ken Bruno, who publicly said the six-figure salary wasn’t good enough. It’s telling that Mr. Abelove faults Mr. McNally for the cost of using special prosecutors to appropriately remove himself from cases involving other Democrats, yet finds no fault with Ms. DeAngelis, a Republican who apparently saw no conflict in seeking to prosecute the county’s Democratic chairman.

While we can’t expect conflicts to never arise, we can expect public officials, especially those with the power of a district attorney, to see them when they do.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

For the last six years, Democrats have contributed greatly to Nassau. With Ray Seney leading, he and Michael Roland and Sue Hains spurred the development of the comprehensive plan and updated zoning laws, initiated open government policies, took the junk yard to court and won, helped move the cleanup of the Dewey Loeffel Toxic Waste Site from the DEC to the EPA, worked with CEO to bring a comprehensive day care center to our area, oversaw the budget, and opened town government to all civic minded individuals.

Democrats and independents came forward and joined with Republicans to create and serve on the Natural Resources Committee, the Comprehensive Planning and Zoning Committee, the Website and Broadband Committee and presently many of those citizens still serve on these committees as well as the Zoning Board and Planning Board.

If you want this forward thinking representation to continue, electing our candidates is essential. Ray Seney has given his all to our town -- first as Supervisor and now as Councilman; he comes to meetings prepared and asks the questions that need to be asked. Ray is running for re-election, we have to keep him on the Town Council.

Guy Forte has stepped forward and is wants to move ahead with the initiatives outlined in the 2011 Comprehensive Plan and to work with both the Town and the Village of Nassau to figure out ways that mutual cooperation will work to save money and still provide quality services for all townspeople. Let’s get Guy elected to the board.

Along with Donna Ortgies, our town clerk candidates, and Marcelle Gadreault, our candidate for tax collector, all of our candidates are completely independent. They have no other overlapping loyalties. Decisions of our office holders are theirs alone. They are seeking office in order to serve the town and for no other reason.

Remind your friends that on Tuesday, November 8, the future of Nassau will be decided. The progress we have made is because we have had our candidates serve on the Town Council. A five-to-nothing Republican Town Council will be at best a status quo council.

We need your support. Send us a contribution. Help us stuff envelopes. Anything you do, allows us to do more.

Thanks for listening,

Mark

Town of Nassau Democratic Committee, PO Box 237, East Nassau, 12062: Where your donations lead to good government.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Tea party Republican Chris Gibson, NY-20, represents a far-flung district that was hard-hit by Irene in every one of its 10 counties.
Thousands of his constituents still do not have power, and several major roads and bridges were washed away and are still closed.
Like a professional pol, rookie Gibson was out there getting free media and expressing his concern:

My office is working with the Cuomo administration to ensure we make the strongest case for FEMA assistance and I’m encouraged today to be with the governor and see his priorities, that he’s put on this. This is going to take our very best effort – the federal, state and county level — going forward.

Boehner/Cantor, playing to the GOP's far-right tea party base, have proposed unspecified "offsets" (even more job-killing cuts in federal spending) that will be necessary before the radical House Republicans will provide funding for FEMA to do its basic job of helping victims of Irene, and local governments who need to rebuild scores of roads and bridges, just in NY-20.
Gibson's "very best effort" is constrained by his allegiance to Boehner/Cantor (from the initial link, above):

“We can do offsets,” Gibson said, agreeing with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. “Certainly we can find other places where we can save money, but this is what you need a federal government for — a moment like this — and it has got to be a priority.”

So what will happen when Boehner/Cantor propose a FEMA funding bill for Irene expenses that will inevitably involve cuts in federal programs that Democrats won’t abide?
The Boehner/Cantor bill won’t get a hearing in the Senate, and the issue could drag on for months in yet another radical Republican hostage-taking scheme.
Gibson has said he supports Boehner/Cantor hostage-taking that hurts people in his district.
That should count for something in next year's election.
And Gibson recently told Dutchess County constituents that he stands by his no-new-taxes pledge to Grover Norquist.
So Gibson will not do everything he can to help his Irene-affected constituents.
He will instead do what little he can, and only as much as his political bosses -- Boehner, Cantor and Norquist -- will allow.

Welcome to RenssCo Politico

This blog is an online place for Rensselaer County Democrats to learn about and discuss news and issues of mutual interest -- campaigns, candidates, committee events, controversies, etc.

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